TED begins its largest conference yet

Feb 26, 2013 | Biz/Tech

@TEDxSFU tweeted: "Greetings from Long Beach! @distywinata is currently at TED exploring cool installations. #TED2013"

@TEDxSFU tweeted: “Greetings from Long Beach! @distywinata is currently at TED exploring cool installations. #TED2013”

Compiled by Kaite Boivin

Almost at year after TED set out on a global talent search for new speakers, its largest annual conference begins today.

The five-day conference follows a shortened TEDx style with four days of 12-minute stage talks from 70 leading innovators around the world.

The non-profit group is entering its third decade with this year’s conference titled “The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered.” held in Southern California.

TED events seeking fresh voices were held in 14 cities on six continents from April to June 2012, with almost 300 finalists vying for the top spots.

Today brings two sessions of the TED Fellows Talks, featuring 21 “trailblazers” from the TED Fellows program.

Artists, physicists and a 14-year-old who built a nuclear fusion reactor in his garage are some of the speakers taking the stage in the coming days, with almost a third chosen from the talent search.

TED which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, was selling the invitational-only tickets for $7,500. It is now sold-out.

Attendees also had to prepare a written essay for admittance.

CTV News reported TED bragging about the guests as the “world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers.”

This will be the last year the conference is held in Long Beach, as it moves North, to Vancouver for the 2014 and 2015 conferences.

The Vancouver Sun reported Chris Anderson, TED curator, as choosing Vancouver for it “feeling of looking forward” and its “commitment to excellence, of innovation and sustainability”.

Click here for a full list of speakers.